A bag house or fabric filter is an air pollution control device that removes particulate out of air or gas released from commercial processes. A bag house can include fabric filter bags, which are oval or round tubes, typically 15-30 feet long and 5 to 12 inches in diameter. The bags can be made of woven or felted material and can have varying degrees of filtering capabilities. The bags are used as a way to meet increasingly stringent air pollution control requirements. However, industrial applications that produce air-borne sparks as well as heated dust and particulate cannot use bag houses or fabric filter materials alone due to the potential for fabric filter fires. More specifically, the filtering bags can be combustible, and if hot particulate touches the bag surface, the bags will begin to smolder and eventually burn. Further, combustible material can destroy even non-combustible bags, such as fiberglass bags.
A spark arrestor is a generic term describing a device that is intended to prevent combustible materials, such as sparks or heated particulate, from escaping into areas that could result in ignition and fire, such as a bag house. Spark arresting devices have been used in emissions control processes with limited success, depending on the gas flow volumes and particle sizes. Many conventional spark arresting devices have not adequately stopped hot particles from entering bag houses. Resulting bag fires lead to production downtown and costly repairs. Accordingly, there exists a need for improved emissions handling systems.